How Kalahari Resorts Increased Employee App Engagement by 27% in 3 Months

In a sea of corporate updates, how do you make your messages truly matter? It’s the core challenge for every internal communicator: cutting through the noise to create genuine connection, especially with your frontline teams. But what if the path to more engagement isn’t about adding more to the conversation, but about changing the conversation itself?

That’s the exact journey Kalahari Resorts embarked on.

The result? A 27% lift in active app engagement in just 90 days.

12 takeaways from this webinar

1. Only managers have company email at Kalahari, and 50% of personal emails bounce—so they made the app mandatory from day one
2. Flyers and bulletins cluttered hallways and got ignored—removing them increased message visibility by making the app the only source
3. The daily newsletter reached inconsistent audiences—posting it in the app means everyone sees it, even on days off
4. Text messages have character limits—the app lets you share full details with images, videos, and documents
5. WhatsApp groups create chaos across departments—a centralized platform gives you control without killing spontaneity
6. Kalahari hits 90%+ adoption by making people feel like they're missing out if they're not on the app
7. New hires download the app during onboarding—not weeks later when they've already found workarounds
8. Department heads post directly to their teams—HR doesn't bottleneck every single announcement
9. 45% Gen Z, 34% Millennials, 15% Gen X, 6% Baby Boomers—all using the same platform successfully
10. Kalahari tracks who reads what with read receipts—no more "I didn't see it" excuses
11. 10% of associates have stayed 5+ years—retention is directly tied to better communication and culture
12. Resistant managers become advocates once they see 800+ people on the app at their property alone.

Who needs to watch this

You, if any of these sound like your day:

• HR and Culture Leaders managing dispersed frontline teams who never check email
• Operations Managers sick of hearing "the message didn't reach everyone"
• Communication Directors watching email open rates tank
• Training Teams trying to reinforce learning beyond boring manuals
• Retention Specialists looking for ways to actually connect with employees

If you're in hospitality, retail, manufacturing, logistics, or construction—and your teams don't sit at desks—this is for you.

Why Kalahari's story hits different

This isn't some polished case study. Kalahari Resorts is dealing with real complexity:

• 5,000+ employees across four resort properties (fifth one coming)
• 20+ departments per location—water parks, convention centers, restaurants, you name it
• 350 international students every year
• Four generations working under one roof
• Operating in an industry where turnover is brutal

They had the same headaches you do. Managers forgetting to share updates. Flyers nobody reads. Emails bouncing. Critical info falling through cracks.

Three years with Speakap later? They've built a communication system that works. And Kara's sharing exactly how they did it.

Your experts

Kara Ruchti | Corporate Director of Culture & Retention, Kalahari Resorts & Conventions

Kara runs culture and training across all Kalahari properties. She handles resort training, wellness programs, associate events, and—the important part—making sure communication actually reaches frontline employees instead of disappearing into the void.

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Tobi Anderson |  Head of Customer Experience, Speakap

Tobi works with customers from day one through everything that comes after. She has spent years helping companies turn employee apps from "nice to have" into tools people actually use.

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Kalahari Resorts runs four all-under-one-roof resorts with water parks, restaurants, retail, spas, adventure parks, and convention centers. Check them out at www.kalahariresorts.com

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